Aerialist Guerin announces her retirement from Canadian freestyle squad

CP

VANCOUVER - Aerialist Sabrina Guerin of Laval, Que., retired from the Canadian freestyle ski team Tuesday following a seven-year World Cup career.

Guerin was a four-time national champion who also competed in four World championships and made 36 World Cup starts. The 30-year-old was named the FIS rookie of the year for the 2008-'09 season.

"I love the sport and all the people involved," said Guerin. "I enjoyed the training and the coaching. I am really lucky you know.

"I started off as a gymnast and when I retired from that, I discovered aerials. It gave me a second chance at competing and a second career in sports. I accomplished way more as an aerialist than I did as a gymnast. I'm really grateful to have been given this opportunity."

One of the few accomplishments missing from Guerin competitive resume was competing in a Winter Olympic Games.

"I didn't get the results I wanted in the last few years," she said. "My difficulties more so stemmed from the mental side of things and dealing with the disappointment of bad results.

"I didn't want to go through more seasons like this. I have no regrets at all. The hardest part is letting go of my Olympic dream. All this factored into my decision and made it harder."

For now, Guerin's focus will be completing her undergraduate degree at the University of Laval in 2016.